After One of Them
by William Choi
Summary: Jack and Ana Lucia find another resident of the island who claims he has some answers to the hatch and numbers.
1. Chapter 1

Previously On Lost… 

"_Jack!" Sayid screams after escaping from Danielle. "We're not alone!"_

"They've _attacked us!" Locke yells. "Sabotaged us. Abducted us. Murdered us. Maybe we should stop worrying about us, and start worrying more about _them_!"_

"_Did you ever find out where they got their power?" Hurley asks._

"_Power?" Danielle replies._

"_Don't you know? The numbers. They're cursed. They bring bad luck to all of the ones around you." _

"_Oh no!" Hurley says when he sees the cursed numbers on the hatch. "Stop it! Stop it! We can't! Stop! Don't light it!"_

_However Locke lights the fuse anyway, destroying the hatch._

"_How many of your group has gotten sick?" Desmond asks._

"_Sick?" Locke replies._

"_Sick! As in ill, as in dead!"_

"_Is that why it says Quarantine on the inside of the hatch."_

"_Answer the question!"_

"_No one is sick." _

"_She started having a fever then she had hallucinations." Henry said. "Then she died."_

"_My boat crashed into the reef, and then Kelvin came!" Desmond cried._

"_Kelvin?" Locke asks._

"_Kelvin. He comes running out of the jungle 'Hurry, hurry! Come with me!.' He brings me down here. First thing he does, because it's already beeping, he types in the code, he pushes the button, and it stops! 'What was that all about?' I say. 'Just saving the world' he says. Then Kelvin died, and now I am here all alone."_

"_You and your partner are currently located at Station 3, or the Swan, and will be for the next 540 days." Says the man in the Orientation. "Station 3 was originally constructed as a laboratory where scientists could work to understand the unique electromagnetic fluctuations emanating from this sector of the island. Not long after the experiments began however, there was …an incident. And since that time, the following protocol has been observed. Every 108 minutes, the button must be pushed. From the moment the alarm sounds, you will have 4 minutes to enter the code into the microcomputer processor. When the alarm sounds, either you or your partner must input the code. It is highly recommended that you and your partner take alternating shifts. In this manner, you will stay as fresh and alert, but of the most importance, when the alarm sounds, the code be entered in completely and in a timely fashion." _

_Locke desperately tries to input the code in time. However, the timer hits zero and begins to show unusual hieroglyphic symbols. Fortunately, Locke manages to punch in the code before seeing what else will happen. _

_-End Flashback-_

Jack decided to take a small stroll in the woods. Clear his thoughts. Thinking about the Others. Thinking about the hatch. Thinking about how Sawyer took all of the guns. Not to mention, where the hell they were. Then suddenly, he hears a rustle in the bushes. He turns around, expecting to see a fellow survivor of Oceanic Flight 815. Instead, he sees someone else entirely.

A man in worn out clothes and shaggy hair. He was slightly dirty. He was out of breath.

"Who are you?" asked the man.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." Jack replied.

The man points an automatic rifle at Jack.

"Answer the question."

Suddenly, the man collapses. Behind him is Ana Lucia, with a wooden club.

"Looks like we caught a live one." Ana Lucia said. "Let's see if he could tell us anything about _them_."


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure?" Locke asked.

"Yes," Ana replied. "He's definitely one of _them_."

"That's what Sayid thought about Henry." Jack said. "You remember what happened don't you."

"We're still not sure if he isn't one of the Others." Locke replied.

"Don't start John." Jack shot back.

"In any case, we should keep him locked up." Locke suggested. "He had a gun. We have no idea what he's capable of."

"Alright," Jack gave in. "But we don't say anything to the others. The word will spread and Sayid will probably learn about it. I am not going let this guy get tortured."

"He pointed a gun at you Jack." Ana pointed out.

"He had no idea who I was."

"Let's stop quarreling and actually ask the prisoner who he is." Locke suggested.

"Exactly what I was about to say." Ana commented.

"Where is he?" Jack asked.  
"We left him in the kitchen." Locke said.

The three looked at the unconscious man on the floor. Ana splashed cold water onto his face and he woke up. Jack bended down and asked him: "Who are you?"

At first, he looked around and realized where he was. When he did, his expression showed fear beyond belief.

"Where the hell am I?" he asked.

"Answer my question first." Jack replied.

"Am I in the Swan?"

"The Swan?"

"Station 3 of 6. Dharma Initiative. The Quarantine."

"How the hell do you know this place?"

"Are you one of Them?" Ana cut in.

"My God. This _is_ the Swan."

"ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

That's when the prisoner really lost it. He got up and started running for the exit. Ana managed to tackle him down. But that wasn't enough. Locke had to help pinning him down.

"LET ME GO!" the prisoner screamed.

"Not until you tell me who you are!" Jack replied.

"HELP ME! HELP ME KELVIN!"

"What!" Locke asked.

"What did you do to Kelvin! Did you kill him!"

"No…."

"Did he get sick?"

"How about this? You answer my question and we'll answer yours."

"Alright, alright. Just loosen your grip. You're killing my arms."

The two slightly loosened their grip but they kept him pinned.

"Now, I am not going to ask again." Jack said. "Who are you?"

"My name is Aaron."

"What!" Locke said.

"Aaron. Aaron Littleton."

Locke remembered that Claire's name was Littleton.

"How did you get on to this island?" Jack asked.

"I was part of the Project."

"The project?"

"This place. We were curious about the unusual electromagnetic fluctuations emanating from this sector of the island. So, we built this laboratory, the Swan. Then we changed the laboratory to fit living accommodations."

"Why?"

"So the people who punch in the code can live here."

"Why do we punch in the code?"

"You…still don't know why, do you?"

"No. You know why? Because nothing is going to happen!"

"No. Something is going to happen. Something bad."

"What's going to happen?"

"The Numbers will be unleashed."


	3. Chapter 3

They finally calmed Aaron down and got him to talk.

"It's a very long story, so please don't interrupt me."

"Of course."

"It was a dream. Our goal was to create a large research compound where scientists from all around the globe could research several different scientific categories. About 32 years ago, while studying zoology of the ocean, our explorers found this island. They explored it and was about to head back when they found unusual electromagnetic fluctuations coming from this sector of the island."

"I was one of those assigned to research and understand the electromagnetism of the island. We built a laboratory here and we immediately went to work. During the excavation, we found a series of numbers etched into the stone. We still don't know how they got there."

"Wait," Jack said. "They found numbers etched into the underground stone?"

"Yes."

"There is no way that is possible."

"Are you on the same island as I am?"

Jack couldn't help but think that those words sounded familiar.

"Anyway, after that, we heard a transmission. We located the source and found a radio tower. The transmission kept on repeating a series of numbers. The same exact numbers we found in the stone."

"It wasn't long before the bad luck started to happen. For some unexplained reason, our equipment failed, then people started getting sick. First they had a fever, then hallucinations, and then they died. We took their blood samples, but the microscopes kept on jamming."

"Jamming?"

"Yeah, they wouldn't work. Finally, They came."

"You mean Them?" Ana Lucia asked.

"Yes, the Original Residents. At first they abducted 4 of us. Next time, they took 16 and killed 8. They were smart, ruthless animals. It wasn't long before we realized that we were cursed with bad luck. We eventually discovered that it was because of the numbers. We didn't know what to do."

"Then, one of our scientists had a dream. His name was Marvin Candel. He's the man you see in the Orientation. He kept on saying that the "island" was talking to him. He made up a system. When he was finished, he had a computer. All we had to do was punch in the same exact numbers into the microcomputer, and it would make a "defense" that would block the bad luck. He also explained that the "defense" the computer made was only temporary. In order to keep it constant, the code had to be punched in constantly."

"Well, we asked 'How many times?' He replied that he wasn't sure. So he added all of the numbers together and the sum was 108. So, he guessed that it had to be punched in every 108 minutes. We thought he had gone insane."

"However, the bad luck slowly went away. The Original Residents didn't come back and we didn't get sick as often. So, we accepted the protocol. However, within 42 days, everyone still died. There was only me and Kelvin."

"Of course, it was only natural for me to be emotionally broken. Originally, I was a strong man. Then I saw all of my colleagues die at this one site. And it was all because of the numbers. Well, I just couldn't take it. I fled away from this place. But Kelvin stayed. He remembered what Marvin said. They were both worried that the if the code was not entered, the numbers would come back. And they would be quite angry. Angry enough to spread to the rest of the world. It was delusional, yes, but they weren't willing to take any chances. So, they keep the numbers within this Quarantine."

They all stared in disbelief, slowly taking in the information. Jack was the first to talk.

"This is insane."

"Jack…" Locke started.

"No! You expect me to believe that _numbers_ caused your entire team to die! That you arrived on this island as an adult 32 years and still look like your in your late twenties!"

"This island is powerful." Aaron replied. "You're right. I haven't aged a day since I've been on this island. Right now, I'm 51, but it looks like I'm still 28. As for the numbers, there is a way to prove that they do have power."

"Really! What is your suggestion!"

"What the team noticed is that the numbers have a tie in everyone's life. Each number is significant to each person marooned on this island. Let's take an example, Ana, what does the number 4 mean to you?"

Ana kept still, with a hard look on her face. Jack was about to say that it was a waste of time when she spoke.

"I was 4 weeks pregnant when my baby died."

Aaron looked at Jack and said five words: Let's go find more examples.


	4. Chapter 4

"You were what!" Jack exclaimed.

"I was pregnant, alright!" Ana replied. "The baby was only 4 weeks old in the womb, when it died."

"And how did it die?" Aaron asked.

"I was a police officer. I got shot of course."

"Who was the father?" Locke asked.

"None of your concern."

There was a long pause before Jack spoke again.

"So what if 4 has some significance in her life! That doesn't prove anything."

Aaron rubbed his forehead and sighed in frustration.

"Locke, what does 4 mean to you?"

Locke suddenly donned a petrified look on his face. He knew what 4 meant to him. But he couldn't tell. He couldn't tell them that he was in a wheelchair for 4 years….

"Well?"

"Nothing. It means nothing to me."

Aaron still looked suspiciously at him.

"Then how old are you?"

"51 years old."

"There you go! 15 with the digits reversed. Same with me. And I've been living on this island for 32 years. 23 reversed. And what was your flight number again?"

"Oceanic Flight 815."

"8 and 15 right there!"

"Come to think of it, Danielle was on this island for 16 years. And there were 4 of us who blew up the hatch."

"4 tail survivors." Ana suggested. "My seat was 42F."

"Our plane left from Gate 23."  
"I still refuse to believe it!"

"You know, there is a simple ritual for this."

"A ritual?"

"Yes. Marvin did it on the people who refused to believe that the numbers were cursed. It can work on you. All I need is some ink."

"And let's say you do this ritual. What will supposedly happen?"

"You'll have bad luck for 4 days. The magnitude of bad luck depends on the material we use. With ink, it should be trifle. However, the most extreme we know is blood. And we don't want that. So, do you guys have a pen?"

"No….."

"Then I better make some. Island materials probably work better."

"Fine! I'll do anything. Just to prove that you guys are just acting insane."

"Alright. But first thing's first. I'm running a little on ammo. Have you guys changed the combination to the armory?"

Everyone looked at each other.

"What?"

"Uhhhhh," Jack started. "There may be a slight issue with that."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't exactly have them anymore. One of our fellow survivors took them. And he isn't exactly willing to give them back."


End file.
